I'm With You
by Commander Zoe
Summary: An alternate 'ending' to my fic, No Regrets. What if Zoe had taken James on the final push towards the Catalyst? Just a drabble from a prompt on tumblr. Character death ensues. Ow, I hurt myself.


_The prompt was {Zoe x James: "Oh fuck, oh FUCK."} So, of course, I had to rip my own heart out because angst is kinda what I thrive on. Didn't do a lot of editing, so apologies for any errors! I hope you enjoy and please review! I'd love to know your opinion!_

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"Oh fuck, oh FUCK. This is bad, Shepard. This is really bad!"

James sucked in a sharp breath, clutching tightly to the fresh wound on his side, afraid to look at it for fear of seeing how deep it truly was. The commander pulled him hastily behind cover, popping off several rounds into the remaining marauders, before ducking down beside him to check the laceration. When she lifted his hand from his hip, her heart plummeted into her stomach.

 _Shit, this really is bad._

"It's okay, James. It's not that bad. Here, let me get some medi-gel on it."

Shepard swiped the gooey liquid across the gapping hole that marred her lover's side, knowing that at this point, the stuff would do little good. Vega needed stitches, or a whole new abdomen for that matter. They were so close to the Catalyst that the hollow buzzing of the beam was resounding loudly in their ears, calling to her to finish what they'd started.

"You're lying, Lola," James sputtered a cough, his breathing quickly becoming more shallow and ragged as the seconds ticked on, "You've always been a terrible liar."

"James…"

"Don't. Just go, Zoe. Somebody has to make it to the beam. Somebody has to stop the Reapers."

"I'm not leaving you here like this, James!" Shepard shook her head rapidly in protest, but James brought a hand up to her cheek to quell the desperate motion, "Jimmy…"

"Remember what I told you," Vega struggled through the words, his jaw clenched tight by the agony coursing through his body, "No matter what happens, I'm always gonna love you."

"No… The Normandy is en route. They'll pick you up. You'll be fine. It's not supposed to end like this."

Hot tears trickled down Zoe's face, as explosions and chaos swirled around them. But in that moment, their world was still – a bubble of solitude frozen in time. Shepard knew she was watching him fade away, and her mind was screaming at her to retreat while there was still time, but her heart wouldn't allow her to budge from the spot.

"It's not gonna end, Lola. Not for you. You're gonna go and blow the hell out of the Reapers, and I'll be right beside you. I'm with you."

"James, _please_ ," Shepard let out a gasping sob, "Please don't leave me."

"Shepard! There you are! We've got to – oh, god."

"Ashley, radio the Normandy! Tell them Lieutenant Vega needs medical assistance, immediately. Tell Joker to get the fucking lead out!"

"Shepard, I don't think he–"

"Just fucking do it, Williams!"

When Zoe turned her attention back to James, his eyes had drifted closed and his breathing had slowed considerably. Panic shot through her, icy-hot and pulsing, constricting her throat to the point that she could hardly breathe herself. She grasped the lieutenant's shoulders and gave him a rough shake, hardly able to see him through the glassy moisture welling on the cusps of her eyelids.

"James! Wake up! Please!"

He coughed again, dotting a spurt of crimson across his thin lips – those lips she'd kissed about a hundred times; those lips that had told her 'I love you' every night now since they'd finally found their way to each other; those lips that were turning blue from the cold and lack of oxygen.

"Zoe, you gotta get out of here. Please, just do what you have to do."

"Shepard!" Ashley barreled towards her, grabbing the commander by the shoulders and urging her up, "I know this is painful, but you have to get to the Catalyst before it's too late."

"No! You go! He needs me!" Shepard wailed, struggling against the brunette's grasp as she was yanked away from her fallen lieutenant, "Please, he needs me. James!"

"The world needs you, Lola! Forget about me, just go save the fucking galaxy!"

"No!"

With one final tug, Zoe wrenched herself free, practically falling onto James, and crashing her mouth to his, the cold, metallic taste of the blood that stained his lips meshing onto hers. When she finally backed away, Shepard cupped his cheeks with both hands, pressing her forehead to his and staring deeply into his eyes – mocha and platinum melding together one final time.

"I'll never forget you. No chance in hell, Vega."

"Ditto, Lola."

"I love you, James."

"I love you too, Zoe. Eres mi todo." (You are my everything.)

"Ditto, Jimmy."

At that, Shepard allowed herself to be drug away by the lieutenant commander. She shot off towards the blinding luminance, wanting nothing more than to look back over her shoulder, but she knew if she did her resolve would wither – she'd return to him and then all would be lost. She had to do this for him, so that none of this would be in vain. How she would handle life without her better half, Zoe wasn't sure, but it was something she'd have to deal with when all of this was over, if she even survived herself.

Lieutenant Vega – the man that had pulled her back from the brink at least a dozen times in the year since they'd met. James – the man that had made her ridiculously furious, mind-numblingly happy, and now soul-crushingly heartbroken. Jimmy – the man that loved her for everything she was, and even for the things she never could be.

He watched her go, following her swift retreat with watery eyes, fighting to cling to his last ounce of will, just to make sure she made it through to the other side. As the Normandy descended, and Ashley knelt down to pick him up, he shoved her away.

"Go. Ain't no way you can carry me like this. Get your ass out of here."

"Are you kidding me? Shepard would kill me if she knew I left you behind."

"Get the hell out of here, Ash!" Vega bellowed, collapsing backwards, his head impacting hard with the ground as his vision twisted and waned, "If she does something crazy, somebody's gotta be there to get her out of it."

" _Shit_ …" Williams stood reluctantly, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant."

"Just… _go_ …"

Ashley hesitated for another moment, but she knew he was right. If she tried to heft him up, neither one of them would make it out of this. But she had to try. The LC dropped back to her knees, shoving her arm under Vega's wide frame and focusing all the energy she possessed into hoisting him to his feet. As she pulled him to, he let out an anguished groan, seething through gritted teeth as she urged him towards the ship.

"Fight through it, Vega! She's lost too much, she's not gonna lose you too!"

"I… I can't, Ash…"

He was faltering, hanging limp on her arm, and it was taking every once of strength she could muster to drag him towards the hangar in the distance. Mercifully, Garrus and Javik came bounding towards them a moment later, relieving the brunette and working as a team to carry the wounded lieutenant into the Normandy. They dropped him as easily as they could onto the hard floor of the shuttle bay, as the hangar closed them in, searching his pallid countenance for any sign of life.

"I think he's gone," Garrus sighed, turning his face away from the grisly scene.

"No, there is still life there," Javik brought an armored hand to Vega's nose, a light coat of fog tinting the ruby metal, "See, breath. Perhaps we should call the medic."

"EDI! Get Doctor Chakwas down here now!" Ashley yelled in the direction of the intercom, before plopping down to the lieutenant's side, "Come on, Vega. Remember that night we had that drunken poker match? Remember what you told me? You always wanted to be like her. This is your chance! Pull yourself through this! Be strong!"

James choked a gasping breath, his head dropping back, vision trailing along the dim lights of the bay before his head fell to the side, his hazy gaze settling on the silhouette of his work bench. How many nights and days had they spent there together, talking and laughing and reminiscing about their pasts? But now it was over. No matter how much Ashley screamed at him, no matter how desperately he wanted to live his dream with Shepard – cling to life for her – nothing was going to change this. With one last shallow cough, and a short quavering breath, the lieutenant's eyes rolled heavenward.

The final shred of life drained away, seeping into the stagnant atmosphere, as the lieutenant commander watched in horror while it happened. She fell to her knees, clinging to his limp, ashen neck as if she were the one that had just lost the love of her life. Ashley felt every iota of pain that Shepard wasn't there to experience. She pressed her lips to his ear, sobbing into his neck, crying for her commander, her best friend, the woman that had been through so much, who was now losing everything she'd ever wanted.

"I'm so sorry, Zoe. I'm so sorry… I tried."


End file.
